Wireless AP solution for embedded devices

[dragosionutdanaila]

Hello,

I would like to connect 100 to 5000 embedded devices that use ESP32's WiFi connectivity to a server. ESP32 is 802.11b/g/n capable in the 2.4GHz band. Could someone please recommend an Access Point network solution for high reliability ( 0 disconnection 24/7 ) in a manner that enables each Access Point to hold at least 100 clients? Data exchanged is very small, each device should not exceed 5kBps banwidth. 

Thank you very much for your help!

Best regards,

Dragos

[Scott Fella]

Hard to answer your question because we don’t know what type of wireless system you are currently looking at. Reliability starts with planning and understanding. If wireless is new to you, I suggest hiring a Cisco partner to investigate your use case, what you want, and properly survey the areas that need wireless. They will suggest what you need, where they should be mounted, and how many.
Your question doesn’t even state normal users or any other recommendations for anything else but these devices. Your downfall will be that these devices only support 2.4ghz, which is not reliable in the first place.

[dragosionutdanaila]

Hello Scott,

I am indeed new to wireless, with little knowledge. To be honest I was expecting things to be a lot easier like selecting an equipment that guarentees connectivity for 100 active clients on 2.4GHz.

Other than the ESP32 devices, no other user is allowed in the WiFi LAN, the server being connected via wire.

All devices are grouped in clusters, each cluster having devices within a 15 meter radius. The distance between two clusters (center to center) is up to 30 meters.

Do you happen to know if there is an easy approach to selecting equipment based on this description? So far we used a commercial solution that could hold up to 55 clients without disconnections, but having 72 connections at the same time caused ~60 reconnections within one hour.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Dragos

[Scott Fella]

Well you should look at what and why the issues are happening because again, wireless is half duplex and every device on a given channel, not ap, will share that medium. If channel utilization is high, then I don’t see how another manufacturer ap will help your situation. If these devices don’t use much bandwidth but utilization is high, you should look for a manufacturer that has 5ghz and get off the 2.4ghz. This is just my advice, I don’t think you will find a good answer here or any forum. You really need to investigate first why these devices are dropping. Maybe these embedded devices need to be upgraded or settings on these need to be adjusted.